My OperaUpdate from Phuket.
Tuesday, January 30, 2007 3:29:38 PM
This evening we watched our last sunset in Phuket, at least for this year I expect. Tomorrow afternoon we're due to fly back to Bangkok and on Thursday night, London.
To go back to where I left you, the last time I posted we were still in Lamphun and on Thursday about to explore a huge and spectacular cave. It wasn't the one I found many years ago when I was last up that way. This one was different and someone had gone to a lot of trouble to develop it as a tourist attraction but clearly the business wasn't there and it's been abandoned. The steps and walkways are still there and it was easy to get up to but the lights they'd installed had gone and we had to rely on torches to penetrate the darkness.
Next day, Ajahn Lai took us up to the highest point in Thailand: Doi Intanon, about 8,500 feet above sea level. In case you're wondering how I made such a spectacular climb with my injured foot, I'd better confess that it was a pretty comfortable drive. We were lucky, apparently it can be one of those places wreathed in mist where you just read about the view but last Friday it was bathed in brilliant sunshine and wonderfully cool. We did the forest walk and then drove down a bit to the two big chedis built by the King and the Queen, one each. Both were surrounded by beautiful English gardens with antirrhinums and phlox and somewhere a band playing the sort of music I last heard at a Buckingham Palace garden party.
Early on Saturday morning Bob drove out from Chiangmai to collect us and take us to eat at their house. It was Bob's birthday. In the afternoon we went on a little riverboat trip up to a herb garden. Unfortunately there were other passengers and on the way up river we had to listen to a Yank and a Canadian discussing the relative strengths of the Canadian and American dollar and on the way downstream two couples describing their other holidays. Then it was back to Bob and Nee's to get ready for the evening flight to Bangkok.
Early next morning with Khun Jung we were off again to Suvarnabhumi, the new airport, to catch our flight for Phuket. This of course is where the Tsunami hit so savagely a couple of years ago, but not the part where we were going. Our first stop when we'd landed was the hospital to have my foot checked. I'd fallen again the night before and so I had my blood pressure taken again and I had an xray which confirmed that there had been no break. I left kitted out with a new ankle-support and some medicine. Then we went to this spectacular place where we're staying. I don't have the words to do it justice, nor indeed the kindness and generosity that has been lavished upon us by Khun Jung and Khun Songkran and everyone here. All I can say is if you want to take a look and have your breath taken away, just go to Sri panwa.
To go back to where I left you, the last time I posted we were still in Lamphun and on Thursday about to explore a huge and spectacular cave. It wasn't the one I found many years ago when I was last up that way. This one was different and someone had gone to a lot of trouble to develop it as a tourist attraction but clearly the business wasn't there and it's been abandoned. The steps and walkways are still there and it was easy to get up to but the lights they'd installed had gone and we had to rely on torches to penetrate the darkness.
Next day, Ajahn Lai took us up to the highest point in Thailand: Doi Intanon, about 8,500 feet above sea level. In case you're wondering how I made such a spectacular climb with my injured foot, I'd better confess that it was a pretty comfortable drive. We were lucky, apparently it can be one of those places wreathed in mist where you just read about the view but last Friday it was bathed in brilliant sunshine and wonderfully cool. We did the forest walk and then drove down a bit to the two big chedis built by the King and the Queen, one each. Both were surrounded by beautiful English gardens with antirrhinums and phlox and somewhere a band playing the sort of music I last heard at a Buckingham Palace garden party.
Early on Saturday morning Bob drove out from Chiangmai to collect us and take us to eat at their house. It was Bob's birthday. In the afternoon we went on a little riverboat trip up to a herb garden. Unfortunately there were other passengers and on the way up river we had to listen to a Yank and a Canadian discussing the relative strengths of the Canadian and American dollar and on the way downstream two couples describing their other holidays. Then it was back to Bob and Nee's to get ready for the evening flight to Bangkok.
Early next morning with Khun Jung we were off again to Suvarnabhumi, the new airport, to catch our flight for Phuket. This of course is where the Tsunami hit so savagely a couple of years ago, but not the part where we were going. Our first stop when we'd landed was the hospital to have my foot checked. I'd fallen again the night before and so I had my blood pressure taken again and I had an xray which confirmed that there had been no break. I left kitted out with a new ankle-support and some medicine. Then we went to this spectacular place where we're staying. I don't have the words to do it justice, nor indeed the kindness and generosity that has been lavished upon us by Khun Jung and Khun Songkran and everyone here. All I can say is if you want to take a look and have your breath taken away, just go to Sri panwa.
